1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an oven muffle, in particular an oven muffle having at least two wall elements adjoining each other which delimit at least some regions of an interior space that can be used as a cooking chamber, in which the wall elements are composed of glass or glass ceramic and the adjacent wall elements are oriented at an angle to one another.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Electrically heated ovens for freestanding ranges or for installation in a kitchen unit are generally known. The oven is essentially composed of an enameled oven muffle, which is heated from above and below with tubular heating elements. On the front side, the oven muffle is closed by a framed glass door. Usually, the upper heating system is situated on the interior of the oven muffle and in high-end ovens, is also assisted by a second heating element that enables the oven to execute a grilling function. The lower heating element is attached to the outside of the muffle floor. In addition to these standard heating schemes for upper/lower heating and grilling mode, a recirculating air fan is frequently also incorporated into the back wall, which can also have a separate heating ring in order not only to recirculate air, but also to produce hot air.
Another known approach is to embody oven walls of glass or glass ceramic. The use of glass ceramic in ovens is known from Canadian Patent Reference CA 2,183,498, which discloses an oven composed of glass ceramic for better cleanability. German Patent Reference DE 35 27 957 C2 describes an oven muffle composed of glass ceramic that is detachably assembled and is heated by externally mounted radiant heating elements. The plates are inserted into a supporting or holding frame, which means that the resulting edges and joints, particularly in the lower corner regions of the oven muffle, can only be cleaned with great difficulty. In addition, it has a high degree of structural complexity. Taking this into account, German Patent Reference DE 35 27 958 C2 proposes an enameled sheet steel muffle, with window openings provided in the side walls, into which the glass or glass ceramic plates are inserted. In this case, the same problem arises. In addition to the fact that the joints and connections can only be cleaned with difficulty, a large portion of the muffle chamber is again composed of enameled sheet steel.